Cheers & Jeers: Can’t miss this Moss

POSTED October 6, 2008 | 12:00 AM

Surely the Redskins didn’t win their fourth game in a row without getting a single reception from Santana Moss, right? After all, he entered the weekend as the second-leading receiver in the NFL, with 27 catches for 421 yards.

Let’s just look at the statistics to make sure.

See, there it is: Moss — four catches, 45 yards, two touchdowns.

Wait a minute. You mean Sinorice Moss? Santana’s younger brother, the fourth wide receiver for the New York Giants, who had one catch all season prior to Sunday afternoon?

And so the fantasy world writhes in pain once again while the real world remains trained on the NFC East. After a 44-6 thumping of Seattle, New York (4-0) is off to its best start since 1990, and the Dallas Cowboys (4-1) kept pace in the division via a harder-than-it-should’ve-been win over the hapless Cincinnati Bengals.

Taking advantage of the suspension of Plaxico Burress, Moss broke open the Giants’ victory with an exclamation point, 23-yard touchdown reception three minutes into the third quarter and another from five yards out for good measure in the final period.

If East is up, then West is down. San Diego, after spending the week designated as the strongest two-loss team in the league, will have to see if it can hold on to the same distinction with three defeats after losing at Miami, 17-10. The Dolphins (2-2) held LaDainian Tomlinson to 35 yards on 12 carries, and Ronnie Brown scored the game-winning touchdown on a direct snap. Nobody saw that coming.

The Chargers (2-3), who had won two straight after an 0-2 start, have reason to remain upbeat; the Houston Texans (0-4) have to be distraught after Sage Rosenfels fumbled twice and threw an interception in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter to let Indianapolis pull out a 31-27 win at Reliant Stadium.